


Irked

by AlastorGrim



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Competent Tallest, Control Brain Fuckery, Implied Smut, Irken Dib (Invader Zim), Mental Coercion, Minor Character Death, One Shot, Or Zadf, Other, Resisty AU, Something Of That Nature, The Tallest Being Assholes, ZADR if you squint, squint hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:41:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21824032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlastorGrim/pseuds/AlastorGrim
Summary: When Dib suggests joining the Resisty, Zim stoutly refuses to go against his Tallest. And, as a bonus, ensures that Dib can't either by changing Dib into an Irken as well. Betrayed and angry, Dib joins anyway, unaware of why Zim thought a different body would stop him. However, once they get to the Massive, Dib discovers something about Irkens that changes everything.
Relationships: Almighty Tallest Purple/Dib, Almighty Tallest Red/Dib, Dib/The Almighty Tallest
Comments: 8
Kudos: 98





	Irked

**Author's Note:**

> This was loosely inspired by a [smut shot](https://dib-beast.tumblr.com/post/183637373888/dib-beast-wrathful-red-more-dib-hadnt%22%22) on tumblr by dib-beast. Honestly the site needs more Pradr content and I am happy to provide!

It had taken Dib a while to get used to only having three fingers. Even longer to get used to feeling of _smelling_ things with his _tongue_. Often times, he couldn't control his antennae, which wasn't too surprising given that he'd watched Zim long enough to know that was difficult for any Irken to do. They were like dog ears, giving him away when he was excited or angry or afraid (though pissed and scared were remarkably similar). 

It had taken Dib far longer than he'd liked to convince Nar to let him join the cause because of it. Nar was still skeptical about the whole 'got turned into the enemy by the enemy' thing, but Dib still had faint traces of human in his system. Enough that it showed up on health monitors, in any case.

Dib still wasn't sure _why_ Zim had done this to him. Objectively, it made no sense. 

They had been becoming something resembling friends, despite their differences, and Zim hadn't given his old 'Taking Over Earth' schtick a good college try in ages. He'd rant and rave and deny if anyone pointed it out, but Dib knew that he had come to see Earth as a sort of home away from home. 

But, as Dib quickly learned, Zim was still fiercely loyal to his Empire. 

Zim heard Dib suggest that they join the stupid Resistance or whatever, just as a joke, and Zim had _lost his shit_. Screaming at Dib that he would rather die than betray his Tallest, would rather be forced back into food service before he did something so dishonorable.

Even after everything the Tallest had done to him--Dib had heard them tell Zim that they hated him to his _face_ , once, and Zim had shrugged it off like nothing--Zim refused to hear anything of the rebellious sort.

They'd argued so many times over it. Over Zim's blind, all consuming loyalty to the leaders that despised him.

Zim always screeched that Dib just didn't understand, that if he had ever been in their 'superior' presence, that he would know.

Dib would rather not. He told Zim so.

He'd been abruptly kicked out of the house.

Dib left it alone after that. He didn't bring it up again, and Zim pretended that he had never mentioned it. But...Dib had never been one to keep his nose clean, either.

Another alien crash-landed on Earth. Someone that was from the very same Resistance (Resisty, a much more moronic title) that Dib had jokingly suggested they join.

Well. Curiousity killed the cat, and yet satisfaction brought it back. 

He didn't tell Zim, but somehow he found out anyway. They'd fought again. Physically. Violently. Something they hadn't done in years. And so, when Dib escaped Zim's base that night, he approached the alien--a Vortian--and asked (demanded) to be taken with them when they left. He told them he wanted to join.

The next day, Dib had woken up in a tube beneath Zim's base, choking on the containment fluid and feeling too big for his bones. Zim had let him out, snarling that maybe now that he didn't rely on his pitiful _hyoomun_ brain, Dib would see sense. 

But if there was something that Zim never learned from, it was that Dib was a stubborn idiot at the best of times, and a suicidal one at worst. 

So, running on spite, he'd stormed out of Zim's base and left with the Vortian, even if it had taken a lot of explaining for her to let him in. 

Dib hadn't heard from Zim since, and it had been almost a year. A year in a body that wasn't his, that wasn't familiar, and was entirely too alien. 

He had retained his height, thankfully, as he didn't want to return to the puntable size of a twelve year old. But his ribs were wider, square, and his torso was much thinner. He felt disproportionate, with his legs too long and his hands too small. He'd swapped out his glasses for a pair of thick goggles to make up for the sudden ability to see in ultra high definition. If he went for too long without them on, he got migraines that buzzed in his bones like static.

His shirts were too short and his shoes were too big now, which left him with Resisty issued boots and odd, metal lined tunics that still hung well above his waist. Not to mention that the PAK now attached to him was the _biggest_ pain in the ass. He no longer had to sleep, which was good, because he wouldn't have been able to lay down comfortably anyway. 

On the plus side, he could now translate languages without a second thought, the barest hint of a monotone AI in the back of his mind whenever it came up. Both that and his wits allowed him to rise fairly quickly in the ranks, until he was sitting level with Nar and Spleenk, even in the body he was in.

But none of that mattered.

Because today was the day that all of them had been waiting for. The day they raided the Massive and killed the Tallest. 

That was the plan, anyway. Nar assured him that it was foolproof, that they were so close, but Dib couldn't help but feel like there was a piece of the puzzle they weren't seeing. Like they'd be chopping off the head of a hydra.

Dib's antennae--the left one mangled beyond repair due to the lucky shot of an Irken soldier--perked up as they flew into the drop zone. He adjusted his gun and glanced down at Ixane. "Ready?"

"No," She replied gruffly. She glanced at him. "But I doubt I ever would be."

"You feel it too?"

"Like we're about to walk right into a trap?" She mused.

"Yeah," Dib muttered, brow creased. His PAK buzzed. He rolled his shoulders, uncomfortable. A huff, and then he clenched his jaw and sent her a stiff smirk. "But hey. At least we'll go out in a blaze of glory."

"Yeah. Because they're gonna blow us up."

Dib couldn't argue with that.

Spleenk hovered them over the dropoff and shouted the signal. Dib was one of the first to jump, figuring they'd come this far, he couldn't get cold feet now. 

He landed roughly on his boots and shouted the all clear back to the others, sweeping hastily forward and wasting no time in taking out the Irkens on the landing deck. Then he moved on, heedless of the raspy, "Traitor!" that was thrown at him from one of the incapacitated Irkens on the ground. It didn't bother him in the least. He wasn't one of them.

Nar, Ixane, and another alien he couldn't remember the name of merged in front of him, flanking, the rest falling behind him as they strode through the halls, taking out Irkens left and right.

But with every hall they cleared, the feeling of unease in Dib's chest grew until it was suffocating. 

' _This is the biggest ship of the entire Armada. Where are the rest of them?_ '

Nar led them confidently to the main room of the Massive, the one that housed the Almighty Tallest. A slow countdown, and then Ixane kicked the doors in. They rushed in, but Dib took two determined steps forward before his entire body locked up like a deer in the headlights.

The room was unassuming, a board of panels with a few pilots manning them, then two large chair set in the circular platform in the center of them. There was no one sitting in them, however, as their occupants were currently standing side by side near the front screen. 

Dib took one look at the Almighty Tallest and he _couldn't breathe_. 

His antennae immediately flattened backwards in an instinctive show of reverence, even as he couldn't move from the doorway. He clutched at his stomach-turned-spooch and wheezed, eyes wide and bewildered.

"What...the _fuck_?" Dib rasped, near pained. His PAK felt hot.

The desire to kneel just so he wouldn't be able to look them in the eye welled up in his chest, along with the saccharine leech of adoration that bled through his veins like poison. The need to please them--Dib had never even _met_ them, much less _liked_ them, what the fuck was happening--clawed its way into his throat until he was choking back a sound that felt a little like crickets.

Nar had stormed forward, making wide, grand gestures and speaking in a triumphant, low tone that told Dib that he was aiming for intimidating. Most likely something along the lines of 'we have you now, TYRANTS'. 

The red one--

_**The Great Almighty Tallest Red** _

\--raised an eyebrow at Nar while the purple one--

_**The Stunning Almighty Tallest Purple** _

\--smirked down at him.

Dib shook his head. The AI voice was back, softer yet stronger than before. 

_**Serve the Tallest. Obey the Tallest. Please the Tallest.** _

' _No--NO! Stop that!_ ' Dib shrieked to himself, horrified.

"You've caught us unawares, Resisty leader Lard Nar," drawled Tallest Red, and his voice snagged Dib's attention in a way that forced him to listen.

"Congratulations," Tallest Purple purred, endlessly smug. Dib was mortifyingly captivated. "On being the biggest group of _suckers_ to ever grace this galaxy."

_What?_

"What?" Nar echoed, and Dib heard it that time.

He heard the high pitched whine of charging guns a second later, too late to stop the thin beams of concentrated light from searing through Nar and Ixane's heads, several more beams flying past Dib and most likely killing the cluster of rebels behind him. A laser ventured too close and singed through his coat and tunic to burn against his flesh. He hardly noticed it.

Dib wanted to turn around to look at the carnage behind him, see if anybody had made it and was retreating back to the ship, but he couldn't. He couldn't even look at the bodies of his fallen teammates. He only had eyes for the Tallest.

This...this wasn't like normal awe and adoration. This was crippling--this was _soul-crushing_. Thought annihilating.

And Dib could suddenly understand why Zim was the way he was. The urge to prostrate himself before these two Irkens that he _knew_ to be tyrants, that he had hated with every fiber of his being before this very moment, was debilitating. He could understand dropping everything when a transmission from the Tallest came in. He could understand refusing to speak poorly of them even when they were brazen about their distaste. He could understand wanting to force others to understand.

Dib's PAK started up a soft thrum when he realized that two pairs of eyes, one crimson and one violet, were now trained on him. 

"Well," Tallest Red began. "If it isn't the nuisance Zim told us about."

"I-I..." Dib scrambled for something witty to say, a particular specialty of his, but came up empty. His chest hurt all of a sudden.

"Seems like the little defect was right," Tallest Purple mused, eyes half-lidded and lips quirked. "He can't even speak, much less move. And he had looked so _angry_ bursting in here like that," He crooned, tone dripping with condescension.

Tallest Red swept forward slowly, red skirts sliding soundlessly across the floor. "On your knees, then."

Dib's PAK clicked, and his legs gave out. He caught himself on the doorframe, odd chitin claws scraping across the metal as he struggled to stay upright. ' _No_ ,' Dib reaffirmed, gritting his teeth and screwing his eyes shut. He forced his legs to lock, keeping him standing. ' _this isn't right. I'm not one of them. I hate everything they stand for._ '

 **OBEY THE TALLEST** , the AI boomed, far louder than before. Dib winced. 

Tallest Red narrowed his eyes at Dib, head tilting slightly. "On. Your. _Knees_."

Dib's PAK _burned_. His entire body collapsed, folding into a kneeling position with his head bowed as a fresh rush of warm adoration spilled into his chest. The damn PAK...that had to be what it was. Dib had to get it off somehow, but without Zim, he was shit out of luck.

And seeing as Zim was apparently the one who sold him out, he wouldn't be much help either. Bitterness welled up in Dib's throat, and he mentally clutched at it like a dying man, using it as leverage against the barrage of foreign, all consuming awe and reverence so that he could lift his gaze from the floor to the Tallest once more.

Tallest Purple hummed and came to stand beside his co-ruler. "Hm, strong willed. Newer Irkens tend to rub their heads against the floor."

"Or start immediately singing our praises," Tallest Red added curiously. 

Dib had barely bitten them back, to be honest, too sharp teeth sunken deeply into his now prehensile tongue. The longer he fought against it, the hotter his PAK grew, until the smell of singed cloth floated to his antennae. Spine curving as if trying to escape the horrible thing, Dib released his tongue from its death grip to gasp. Blood bubbled over the corner of his mouth, vivid indigo, and the taste of tangerines and chemicals flooded his tongue through the pain. With a start, Dib realized he was tasting his own blood. The lack of iron in Irkens had apparently manifested in their bloodstream. It would've been fascinating to discover, if it didn't viscerally remind Dib of the fact that he was currently Irken himself.

"Aw, look, he's fighting it so hard," Tallest Purple cooed, clasping Tallest Red's arm loosely to get his attention, though it wasn't necessary as they both hadn't stopped staring at Dib since they'd massacred the group of rebels he had burst in with. Tallest Purple took another step forward and reached down to slide a single, thin claw under Dib's chin, tilting his head further back so that he was craning his neck to look up at them. "Come on, we're not so bad. What's the harm in giving in?"

Dib knew there was a very long list of answers to that, all probably referencing the fact that the Irken Empire was plaguing the universe like strangler fig roots and leeching off other planets just to spit them out as empty husks and move on to the next, not caring about the people they killed and/or enslaved along the way. There were good reasons, valid reasons, _logical_ reasons.

And Dib couldn't think of a single one.

It felt like there was something stuffing his brain with cotton until his thoughts were fuzzy and muddled. Tingles were slowly spreading out from the single point of contact at his jaw, and then Dib's chest was rumbling in a way he was very certain humans weren't capable of, antennae vibrating as a sound one could only describe as a purr crooned out of his lips.

 **Obey the Tallest** , the AI sang, a siren's lure.

' _I don't...want to..._ ' Dib managed to think between spells of dizziness, but it was weak, and he couldn't quite remember _why_ he didn't want to.

"Can you say it for us, ° _Jarumil_ °?" Tallest Purple churred, voice sickly sweet. The last word was Irken, but Dib found he understood its meaning perfectly. The twinge of indignance he felt was drowned out by the waves of satisfaction that emitted from his PAK at the claim. Quite unwittingly, he purred louder. "Can you defer to us?" Tallest Purple mused, eyes half lidded in malicious delight.

"M-My Tallest," Dib gasped out, eyes fluttering beneath his goggles as heat buzzed through him, as if in reward.

"° _Kalbid Jay_ °" Tallest Red murmured. Dib's cheeks flushed. Tallest Red stepped closer and hooked his claws beneath one lense of Dib's goggles, tugging them upwards and off. Dib squeezed his eyes shut to avoid getting jabbed in the oculars, but they flickered back open when the claws dropped the goggles and joined Tallest Purple's in cupping his jaw. Tallest Purple let out a quiet trill of interest and Tallest Red tipped his head in intrigue. A knuckle smoothed under the shadowed skin of Dib's eye. "Golden. Is that a natural color for us?" Tallest Red questioned.

"Not at all," Tallest Purple answered gleefully. 

He began to push Dib's trenchcoat off his shoulders. It slid off and pooled on the floor, leaving Dib in the short tunic. He shivered. His breath caught when the sharp points of the Tallest's fingers caught of the seam of the tunic, pulling enough that it started to rip. The metal neck of it came away and clattered to the floor as the tunic tore in two. Chest heaving, Dib felt so hot that he might pass out, overwhelmed as he was beneath the two Irkens' suddenly hungry gazes.

Dib's breath exploded out of him as two gauntleted hands scraped over his left shoulder, tracing the tribal symbols and spacial phenomenas inked on his shoulder blade and spiralling down his bicep. His tattoos. 

"Oh, I like those," Tallest Purple murmured, eyes wide and sparkling as he clawed over the markings, drawing blood to the surface. Dib hissed. Then he ran his hand over to splay his fingers over Dib's chest. "Do you think we could put another one on him?"

Tallest Red hummed and glanced first at his co-ruler, then down at Dib. "We could put our symbol there. Brand you. Would you like that?"

That cleared Dib's head a bit, and he blinked slowly, brow furrowing as he scrambled for that sliver of clarity. There was a faint but persistent screech in the back of his mind that declared that Dib most definitely would _not_ like that, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out _why_. Breath stuttering, Dib twisted away a bit, and it felt like pulling away from a fireplace on a snowy night, but he fought to keep himself there. "Nuh...No, I--"

Tallest Purple grabbed Dib's tremoring, mangled antenna and _pulled_. 

Lightning shot through his entire body, burning into his meridians and making his vision white out for a moment. Dib's spine went rigid and he cried out, back arching closer.

**Serve your Tallest. Please your Tallest.**

"P-Please my Tallest," Dib repeated dutifully, cheeks flushed and panting as his mind spun away from him again.

"There you go," Tallest Purple purred, slackening his grip slightly until he was just pinching the frayed end of burned stalk. "Poor thing, he's all confused. Doesn't know what's happening to him." Came the saccharine coo as his fingers rubbed at the sensitive tip of Dib's antenna.

Dib grit his teeth and screwed his eyes shut, heat like plasma sloughing through his veins and quickening the longer the Tallest's falsely gentle touches continued. He was losing his mind.

He must've said something to that affect out loud, because the next thing he knew, Tallest Red had snagged his other antennae--the unharmed one--with one hand and pressed his claws harshly into Dib's bottom lip with the other. He smirked when Dib choked out a high pitched chirp, bright and frantic. "Don't worry, little wild thing." He shared a look with Tallest Purple, who grinned viciously back at him. 

"We are going to take _very_ good care of you."

**Author's Note:**

> If you would like to know what those words mean, head on over to my [dictionary](https://www.quotev.com/story/12327465/HC-Irken-Dictionary/1) that depicts my hcs for Irken language--feel free to suggest anything else to translate to Irken because I need new ideas 😅
> 
> Also! I drew a ref for Dib's Irken form [here](https://grimalkinmessor.tumblr.com/post/189752946827/irked-alastorgrim-invader-zim-archive-of-our), if you'd like to see. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, Dolls, and feel more than free to leave a comment if you liked this Trainwreck!


End file.
